Billy Goss is a true American farmer — a man who looks like he works the ground; the stamp of toil. Sun, diesel and dust have toughened Goss, Goss Farms, Clarksdale, Miss., and given him the appearance of a man who belongs to the land.

Mississippi Delta farmland has produced some of the finest examples of Native American stonework and pottery yet found in the United States. Terry Smith has spent the last 20 years amassing an astounding, museum-quality collection of Delta Indian artifacts.

Terry Smith, Smith & Weiland, Clarksdale, Miss., is perfectly poised to search for Indian artifacts, and knows precisely where to look and what to look for. He has spent the last 20 years amassing a museum-quality collection of Delta Indian artifacts.

With cotton harvest on full-bore, Brandon Walton sprang into action when he suspected one of his pickers might have a bad bearing. Using a small remote control tether, Walton, farm manager, Omega Plantation, Clarksdale, Miss., tested the massive baling apparatus. Next, after entirely shutting down the picker, he crawled into the belly of the cotton beast and made sure everything was working to his satisfaction.

Thomas Neblett, Sunrise Planting Co., Clarksdale, Miss., 22, is literally one of the youngest farmers in America. With the average age of U.S. farmers at 60, and with estimates that over half of American farmland will change hands in the next 20 years, Neblett seems all the younger.